Gun Gale Online: A New Beginning
by Fictologist
Summary: Set in the world of Gun Gale Online, follow and influence the adventure of Kirito as he tries to solve the task given to him by Kayaba. Rated M for safety
1. Chapter 1: Intro

_Well here is a little information on this story so you know what to expect._

 _I'll try to avoid spoilers I really will!_

 _Yes this is Sword art online, BUT only GGO (Gun Gale Online) when Kirito is in his rather…feminine avatar. He may be a girl, maybe not (up to you guys). I don't plan on following the story a lot but you will recognize more then a few names/events. I don't plan on using the the surfixes –san etc for ease of reading for people who do not watch a lot of animes._

 _There may be some mature themes/shipping. And it may not be straight. (yaoi/yuri)_

 _I will probably leave options at the end of each chapter for you, the reader to influence the story._

 _Also, the normal disclaimer that I don't own anything except the original characters created in the story. yada yada. Now hurry up and read the real thing._

* * *

"So will you do it?" asked Kayaba

"Well it's not like I have a choice" replied Kazuto standing up and started walking away.

"Sit down, I implore you. There is more!" asked Kayaba in a semi-pleading/semi commanding tone.

"Make it quick." "You understand that because of the politics surrounding this we need you to go full dive again, most likely for longer than a week. You already know the amusphere isn't capable of operating for so long straight so you will have to use the nerve gear helmet with the modifications we agreed to do to it. The staff will be told that you are one of the 300 who never woke up and was transferred to this hospital because your family moved. Do you understand the implications?"

"Well" Kazuto started holding his chin and appeared deep in thought. "Events happening in GGO wouldn't affect my real body because that was the individual coding of SAO. So this isn't regarding the game…. It means I cannot leave regardless of whether I logout until your request is complete at the risk of exposing the full dive nerve gear modifications I made. I cannot talk with my family or… Asuna until it's complete."

"Correct" replied Kayaba smirking. "Your avatar will be quite a rare one since your account has been transferred. Since I designed the system, I made sure the survivors would be easily recognized for who-and what they are and your achievements… are many."

"What am I getting myself into" Kazuto asked himself under his breath.

 **The next day at 8am at the hospital**

As Kazuto was rolled into the hospital wearing the nerve gear he pretended to be in a comatose state while thinking about his goodbye to everyone.

He had asked everyone to come on sometime that night so he could break the news in the neutral town of Arun in Alfheim. It could have been heart wrenching if he told everyone-especially Asuna the truth about what was happening. Instead, once everyone was together he just said he was going to be Beta Testing a new game and that he would be back in a week or so. Klein and Agil were easy going about it and wished him luck, the newest addition Karoka the female Salamander was kind of indifferent, Asuna and Yui just trusted him (that's what hurt the most), and his sister looked at him strangely with pursed lips. Lisbeth tsk'd and told him to take good care of his gear since she wouldn't be there to maintain it. Silica was absent due to real life commitments but received a promise from the others present that she would be told.

With that done, he said his goodbyes and logged out before he started to break down into tears.

The moment he was alone in the hospital room he took a brief look around the empty room and the rather comfortable clothing he has on and thought "I hope everyone will be alright while I'm gone…" as he shed his tears silently without sobbing.

"Link start!"

 **The virtual world of Gun Gale online**

"Welcome to Gun Gale mercenary! This tutorial will show you how to interact with the menus as well as teaching you the basics to this game" boomed a rather masculine voice in a rather odd cuboid environment.

Looking around I didn't see anything important of note but I saw I was wearing fingerless gloves made of a stiffened fabric and I imagined it would be quite good for avoiding abrasions in acrobatic manuevers. I had on boots that felt like they were steel toe but seemed as light as pure felt boots and didn't have the heavy weight strike as I tried stomping with my foot. But what's this stuff getting in the way of my vision… That's hair! I have long hair. Ok that isn't so bad but Jesus it goes down to my waist! Am I a girl? I have non-descript white with black stripe clothing; I guess the normal newbie gear.

"To look at your stats" the voice continued oblivious to his observations.

"Wait… repeat!" I commanded, hoping the system was programmed well enough to take into account people not paying attention. Observations about myself can be made later!

…

…

… "Pay attention or pay with your life." The tutorial bot noted aggressively. "In the upper right corner of your vision you should see your health bar. If it reaches 0 I will not be surprised considering your lack of attention."

Noting I hadn't taken umbrage to the insult it continued.

" Swipe with your left hand pointing out and the game menu will appear in front of you. Here is where you can equip items, log out, invite people to squads or all sort of fun stuff. Feel free to experiment. Later. Now to inspect the stats of people you need to have them in your sight and open the menu while looking at them. This is rather important for Player Killers (PK-ers) to scout out opposition. This only works in safe zones though so do your research! Open the menu and scroll to the bottom under status to view your own stats. Speak again when you are ready to continue" the voice went from aggressive to bored.

Lifting my left hand up I brought up the menu and first went to see my stats as this was a converted account.

67 AGI

53 VIT

49 DEX

60 STR

18 LUC

75 SEN

Not sure what the stats did and surprised at how high they were (it caps at 99) I involuntarily gave an audible sound of surprise which the system took as an affirmation to continue.

"The stats in this game level up as you use them and are based off either your own abilities in the real world or if you transferred from another game, the stats you obtained in that game scaled into this game appropriately. Agility effects movement speed, fire speed, and evasion. Vitality determines the amount of hp you have. Dexterity increases accuracy as well as a few other things you will have to learn on your own. Strength allows you to carry more, equip heavier equipment and increases stamina in combat. Luck influences the drops you will get from NPC's. Last but not least is Sensibilities, which is the ability to sense danger that doesn't show up on the UI right away. Liken it to intuition if you will." The voice started muddling a bit due to the acoustics of the place and how freaking LOUD it was.

"Now! There is a pistol on a pedestal to your left courtesy of me. Pick it up and be gone!"

"Hmm, that must have spawned while he was talking" I idly note to myself while rubbing the back of my head. I picked it up and in my inventory it said MAC Mle 1950. I equipped it and it appeared in a holster attached to my hip while the scene changed into a city scene that reeked of machinery.

* * *

 _So... shout out to the SAO wiki regarding stats._

 ** _Here is the first major thing YOU can influence the story:_**

 ** _Will Kirito (Kazuto's avatar) be male or female?_**

 _Also if you have any ideas for plot events you can toss them my way too and I may end up using it._

 _Do you have any ideas how the Nerve gear is modified? hehe_


	2. Chapter 2: First Impressions

_Well my hope is for the following chapters to be a bit longer then the intro. I wanted to have you guys choose Kirito's gender but *awkward laugh while rubbing back of head* nobody made any reviews. I think what I may do is have the questions not involving the next chapter immediately. Without further ado, I present to you my choice for Kirito!_

* * *

Looking around I could see a few guys around that looked rather shady. A group of 3 guys in particular caught my attention because they were armed to the teeth and bore heavy scarring on their faces. One had a double barreled gun and another had this really funky red/orange weapon that was as tall as he was wide and one and a half times the length of his arm. The other was wearing a cloak that hid everything he had equipped but he had a massive frame. Trying not to look like I was staring at them I looked only briefly, trying to get my bearings in this strange, rather imposing world.

As I walked forward into this plaza/intersection of paths I noticed that there was no off road location to get around in the city and the roads appeared to be in slight arches with some going above the other. In a way it reminded me of Venice with all the bridges over water except this was a lot more open and modern. Looking back I realized I was most likely in a respawn zone/teleport zone as I could see a lot more people appearing where I did.

While I was looking backward I bumped into a group of guys that looked to be in a party. They shoved me back unexpectedly and I almost lost my balance.

"Hey look, fresh meat has arrived" the apparent leader said while leering at me. He had brilliant orange and blue hair in a style that defied gravity, all of it swept left over his head. The rest of the guys just laughed and looked at me waiting for a reply.

"Talking peacocks now? This world is strange." I mutter under my breath making sure he can hear. While I looked at him in defiance I realized I was a lot shorter than him-scratch that- everybody there. How tall am I exactly?

I turned to the left and began to walk away and was surprised when my shoulder was gripped roughly.

"Bitch, No one disrespects Tomohide the Terrible like that." A red haired flunky said.

I burst out laughing. Confused he lets go and the rest of the group surrounds me. I stopped laughing shortly because my laugh was so freaking high. That, along with the word choices of theirs so far made me pretty convinced I at least looked like a girl. I might be able to use this…

"I'm sorry Tomohide" I said as cutely as I could " I'm really new to this game and I'm used to people being a lot nicer. You wouldn't happen to be able to show me how to shoot this gun?"

As Tomohide the leader was slowly falling under my spell I couldn't help but catch hearing two of the people behind me whispering about my stats/avatar. I guess they decided to inspect my profile. "Please?" I could feel my face burning as I said this, this is so not natural.

"Urgg… fine. We will go to the shooting minigame in town and I will teach you the basics. After that you have to duel me for the insults you've given me" he grumbled out.

Looking around it appeared most of the guys were surprised by what he said, although the two that had inspected me went deadly serious.

As they escorted me along the road I was going to go down anyways, we passed a large NPC weapon shop, what looked like a hospital, and then entered into what I guessed was either the gambling or entertainment section. I couldn't tell because there was money being put down on everything happening. There was drinking, there was a bullet dodging game, long distance marksmanship, basically anything involving guns.

As we got closer to our destination, a shooters galley called Gun'er'up, (hardly creative in my opinion) I didn't miss the fact that "the terrible" was in an intense conversation with those two that had inspected me.

I was also starting to pick up their names. The guy with the red hair was Asoko who I guess was their second in command based on how others deferred to him. There was the two that inspected me who were apparently twins using the usernames Jessie and James. Wasn't that from an old anime involving a talking cat? Clearing my head of distractions, there was a 6th person who hadn't said anything yet. He was a little taller then me and had blueish-black hair that was mostly covered up by the headgear worn. He just walked silently with the group, not laughing at their jests about the surroundings and didn't have any weapons equipped. He walked to the left side of the group while I was walking in the center. For some reason he's the one that piqued my interest-

"We're here!"

"Wha-what?" momentarily zoned out I walked into the guy in front of me, Asuko.

"You are an airhead, you know that right" he laughed at me rudely.

"Sure, whatever" I said wanting to learn the mechanics of this game not letting it get to me.

The gang made a half circle with the counter of the game store being the straight line and Tomohide walked into it.

"You lied to me" he stated.

"I did?"

"You said you hadn't played this game before but there is NO way you could have those stats and that avatar if that was the case." He spoke calmly with hard inflections on the end of most the words. Each "you" was an accusation that I didn't like but I've heard worse.

"I wasn't lying, I converted this account…." Trailing off as I noticed he wasn't really listening.

"You are scum."

Something in me finally snapped "calling me scum when you introduced yourself with the words 'fresh meat has arrived' is very hypocritical you know right?

While I had been talking he had brought up the system menu and challenged me to a duel.

It read 'Tomohide has challenged you to an all out duel with no bounty to the victor. Do you accept?'

*sigh* I hit accept and take a look around the surroundings and take out the beginner pistol.

"No way! A MAC mle 1950? There are only 15 of those in the game!" said the quiet person in surprise quietly, and in a rather feminine voice. I looked over startled but focused on more pressing matters.

The surrounding area was terrible for cover; it was like a cul-de-sac with nothing in the center. The ground was level and with the acceptance of the duel, bystanders had moved to the entrance effectively making the dueling zone a circle.

I moved to an edge of the circle, keeping the crowd to my left and my new opponent mirrored my move.

Tomohide equipped a black gun that was short but looked like it had a large ammo clip. Is that a machine gun? I'm so bad with guns, why did I agree to this I chided myself.

"Just that pistol versus my assault rifle? You've got to be kidding me" Tomohide said loudly for his voice to carry over to me.

"I don't have any other guns." I yelled back.

The crowd interrupted further talk with a countdown from 10.

10… 9…

I bit my lip while thinking of possibilities

8… 7…6…

Tomohide raised his gun and began to take aim

5… 4…

I look down at my gun with the seeds of a plan blooming in my mind.

3… 2… 1…

"Start" stated something/someone in a NPC like tone.

As expected he began shooting right at where I was standing so I strafed to the right and I noticed there was a whole bunch of red lines appearing from his gun. It must be where the bullets are going!

As I got closer to the edge of the circle, this time opposite of the crowd, I jumped while running at the building and took 3 steps off it before jumping off towards him.

He was just standing there aiming and firing me. He hadn't bothered on moving. As I was in midair he got me 3 times with his rapid fire before he stopped to reload. Looking at my hp it was only down to about %80 even though he had gotten a solid hit to my leg, torso, and shoulder along my left side.

I landed just shy of him as he was reloading and rolled to my feet, ending with the gun aiming at his head.

"You lost" I said to him as I pull up my menu and forfeit the challenge to him.

I walked to the crowd and they parted to let me through. They were all quiet and were alternating looks between me and him, probably wondering why I had given up. What they didn't realize is that I didn't have any ammo. The tutorial guy was a farce. The game was probably set up that way to give players a taste of defeat from the start if they weren't thinking ahead.

I had only gotten probably two blocks before the quiet person from Tomohide's gang ran up to me and asked why I had forfeited.

Seeing no reason to lie "I didn't have any ammo according to the UI in the bottom right of my vision and I didn't want to shoot him in the first place. By the way, you're the only guy whose name I don't know from that gang. Care to introduce yourself?"

"Minako is my name and I am NOT a guy. You honestly have no ammo miss?"

I look away and grimace at the miss "yeah… I started playing the game only 5 minutes before getting in contact with your group and when I transferred my account from the other game I was given this gun and no ammo from the NPC tutorial."

He I mean she, ( I could start to see the more feminine qualities that were hidden by the clothing she wore which was more but still appropriate for moving around) just looked at me and after a bit of hesitation, (maybe she saw my grimace?) and said " you were telling the truth?"

"Yeah, as hard as it is to believe apparently" I replied a bit exasperated by this conversation and wanting to get going to the market.

"The way Jessie and James were talking about your stats makes me think you have the potential/are one of the best players in the game"

"They are ok, they were raised from where I transferred from."

She giggled "Tomohide missed you for the majority of his clip. Your agility alone is astounding for that. He's going to be entering into the Battle of Bullets and has a fair chance at winning it too. Can I see your stats?"

"Uh sure" I pulled my profile with the avatar model and stat listing for her and rubbed the back of my head with my other hand.

Minako gasped. "These were raised from the last game you came from? 67 AGI, 53 VIT, 49 DEX, 60 STR, 18 LUC, 75 SEN

I haven't seen any person in this game with a stat over 65 and you have two, and a total level of 322 out of 594. I haven't seen or even heard of any remotely close to that. The only reason it would be raised would be to make your stats competitive to the previous game. Also the fact that you started with such a rare pistol means you probably had like a pseudo-legendary or something ridiculous like that. And don't even get me started about your avatar."

"What about my avatar?" I replied, knowing that Kayaba gave me probably one of a kind one based off what he had said and wanting her to hopefully stop on the stat rant.

With that she just looked at me like I was stupid. " First, your avatar is a prototype meaning there only one of them in existence. Secondly it's based off the F-1300 which is extremely rare in itself. There's no speculation on how to obtain it. Third, you don't have a right eye but rather a cybernetic enhancement that looks like the M-46 assistplus but it isn't quite that because you have an ammo count, which I've never heard of them having." As she was saying this she was counting the points off on her fingers.

"Ok, ok, I get the point. I need to get to the market sometime today though. Talk while walking?" putting my words in action I start walking in the direction we came from. After 10 seconds of walking and not getting a response I looked back, she was gone. Not fully understanding what caused that I shrug internally and start heading to the market.

Having the time now to look around a bit, I noticed there was a whole bunch of flying TVS floating throughout the city displaying all sorts of information, useful and useless. In fact... there's even one showing the duel I just had! So much for keeping a low profile.

Regardless, I got to the market without further incident. By the time I got there, I had reevaluated why the crowd was silent- I was a nobody versus a highly talented player and I gave him a challenge, even beat him by some people standards. Current perception is that I'm a female so I have to keep in mind everything I say will be interpreted differently then if I was a guy. Like my conversation with Minako for example. I've already got the public eye on me and with this avatar it's impossible to fit into a crowd. I need to get a good weapon now, and to get out of the city before more questions arrive and I have a better sense of this game.

In fact, this led to me questioning why Kayaba gave me this avatar if he wanted me to lay low. There is no possible way to fit in with a prototype model. What exactly is he trying to do? Commensurate with my accomplishments indeed.

Internal rambling aside, I needed to decide what to buy and get out as soon as I could. My savings had transferred over from SAO because of the seed so I was good in that aspect but I knew that I was virtually unarmed. Heh. So my first goals would to obtain suitable armor and a primary weapon that I can use.

Not knowing the slightest thing about guns, I decided I would start on armor first just to get it out of the way. Armor in GGO is divvied up into 3 main slots with armor stats and everything else cosmetic. All the armor slots having a light, medium, and heavy variance which have different plus and minuses. The main trade off is better protection equals less speed or so I surmised as I was looking at the stats.

Here was a few of my favorites (which I proceeded to buy) out of what was in the shop:

Carbon plated nanohide breastplate: Light Armor  
+31 defense  
+4.5kg (10lb roughly) weight  
Prerequisites: Lvl 5 strength  
A small breastplate covering the vitals that has been plated in carbon for extra defensive capabilities

Woven Nanohide leggings: Light Armor  
+4 defense  
+0.3kg (0.5lb roughly) weight  
Prerequisites: Female avatar  
Weak leggings woven to give tensile strength focused on keeping the armor weight down.

Ferrous enhanced helm: Medium armor  
+18 defense  
+3kg (6-7lb) weight  
Prerequisites: Lvl 7 strength  
A helmet covering the entire head enhanced with iron particles that gives decent early lvl protection.

All in all I want to focus on putting my agility to use to avoid damage, and to look like a newbie to avoid today's events again. I would have preferred a light helmet but with this avatar I wouldn't be able to fit in at all. Unfortunately with the armor you're unable to change the colour of it to keep my traditional black however there was the cosmetic Items that could be purchased in all colours of the rainbow. They could also be equipped over armor, mostly hiding what you have equipped. Hence my next purchases:

Black boots  
Black overcoat with hood 2pc set  
Black leggings skin

Overall I spent around 47000 credits on armor/aesthetics. I'm not sure if that is a lot in this game but I still have another 3.7million that came with me. I hit confirm to enter in the order and then suddenly a droid came racing around the corner on wheels to my location. A interface appeared in front of me "palm interface to confirm order"

Pressing my hand to it, it went from black to a light blue and it suddenly said "thank you for your purchase! All the items are now in your inventory!" before racing off into the distance.

"Well that's definitely more efficient then SAO" I whispered under my breath while opening my inventory and equipping my gear to not attract as much attention. As it crystallized onto my body a couple of guys looked this way and started cat calling before going on their way again.

"Errr, I should probably use a change room next time" as I felt my cheeks starting to heat again (why does that happen so easily?) which luckily was hidden by the helmet I wore.

Embarrassment aside, I moved towards the weapon section which also contained a minigame. It appeared to be a dodging mini-game where you have to tag the shooter while running down a narrow alley. Coming to a stop, I noticed a guy in blue cameo who was about to attempt it.

Deciding I have a little time yet, I come to a stop to watch his attempt.

His two friends to either side of him were pumping him up with encouragement before he yelled out "This time I'm going to do it" and burst through the gate. He got to a silver blue line on the ground before he stopped moving and did an awkward pose as a bunch of bullets past by him.

"Hah not a chance!" he began running again straight at the AI shooter who was reloading and by the time the challenger got to the next line, maybe two meters later he was firing again. Bending forward arms out like a plane he managed to avoid this volley of bullets too. It was starting to look promising for the guy! He was more then half way there!

So he began moving forward again and that's when disaster struck. It looked like he did a quick reload or something and the guy wasn't expecting bullets that quickly and he got shot off balance before taking 3 shots to the chest ending his attempt. As it finished the number in the circle above increased by 500 to 308000 and the other 15 or so onlookers didn't even look surprised. Thinking about what I saw and his reaction as he got further down, there must have been less time to react to the shots fired as you get closer to him. So if you were relying on the prediction lines then you would get hit. You would have to anticipate them. And you fully could if you started weaving as you got closer and maybe took a dive/jump.

Then the reward for completing this mini-game must be the number in the circle in credits or goods or something else. I could definitely do this. But I have no reason to, it would just expose my abilities and start raising more questions. One day, when I need the funds maybe.

Back to weapon shopping!

Approaching the weapon section, it was shaped like an S with 90 degree turns with each of the walls having a different type of weapon on them. If you can imagine it on its side, I entered it on the bottom right pistols on the inside wall to my left and some sort of rifle on the right. Already having a pistol, I look at the right side wall and follow it along. As I approached it, I noticed a terminal showing off the stats and names of the various guns on that wall. These were all apparently assault rifles. The clip size was generally in the 20-30s and the bullet size (caliber) was low. Not at all interested in what I see I follow the path by taking a left. So now on my right hand side is sniper rifles. That I could easily tell by the large scopes and barrels and I already knew I wasn't interested going down that route. On my left; on the smallest wall possible for this type of layout, was rocket launchers of both the physical and energy variety which looked like they would hamper your movement a lot.

Luckily, there was an NPC droid nearby that was saying that "Each gun type, has 2 variances, one which is better in PvP and the other in PvE. Energy weapons had cheaper ammo, were cheaper to buy, and were lighter then their physical counterparts making them an excellent choice wherever and whenever however players can purchase an accessory that reduces the damage by half making it ineffectual in PvP. Physical weapons were harder hitting in PvP and the cost of them certainly reflects it. Due to the cost of the ammo it makes farming with this weapon in most cases inefficient."

Vetoing the rocket launchers, I look to the right again and there are these shorter rifles called "SMG". It didn't say what it was short for so after a quick glance I move further down. Now on the wall to the left there is several MASSIVE guns called a minigun. Quite misleading if you ask me. These are definitely your turret mode guns where you just camp out and have the enemies come to you. I can't see anyone being able to jump around, or even up with that.

Thinking I may have to go for an assault rifle I move around the curve and look at the 2nd and last short wall which had these cylinder forms on it. The title on the little terminal caught my interest right away- Laser swords. Without thinking twice about it I select the Kagemitsu G4 and choose black and purchase it for a whopping 150k credits. Talk about expensive compared to all my pieces of armor together.

Now with all the goods (keeping weapons unequipped for now), time to leave the city... Somehow.

* * *

Question of the day: should Minako show up later in the story aka become an important character?

Also If you're up for rating and reviewing it would be much appreciated. As always you can suggest plot ideas for the story, I have very few planned events.

For those that aren't gamers and don't understand some of the terminology, here is a small list to help you out.

PvP- Player vs Player

PvE- Player vs Everyone, generally refers to enemies controlled by the game

NPC- Not player controlled, refers to an avatar that is controlled by the game

mobs- slang for enemy npc's

farming- the act of repeatedly killing all the mobs in a certain area to achieve a certain goal, such as a level up or a unique item drop

AI- artificial intelligence


	3. Chapter 3: The Hunt Begins

_Hey everyone, in regards to the last chapters poll question, you have until chapter 4 is published. Things are going to heat up pretty quickly! Also yes, Kirito has a female avatar. For simplicity, I'll keep her name the same though. I'm a very sad panda right now. I was going to get Silica's voice actors autograph but the line cut off RIGHT in front of me. So sad..._

* * *

 **Email Exchange in the real world**

 **From: ?**

 **To: Kayaba**

 **Subject line: Blank**

 **There's going to be repercussions for this you know.**

 **End message**

* * *

"Jeez this city is as large as Tokyo..." I said half in awe half in complaint as I had been walking for 30 minutes in one direction with no sign of approaching the city outskirts. The need for keeping this all a secret is becoming really old really quick.

With the sun high in the sky and starting to feel really warm, I decide to get out of the sun in to one of these buildings here where I might be able to glean some information about where I need to go to get out. Unlikely but definitely possible. Seeing a building ahead on my left that has 3 attached shops in it, I enter in the one in the center without looking at the sign.

It just so happened to be a bar of the stripping variety. There appeared to be 8 or so patrons at this point in time making the area close to half full. Walking to the corner in the left beyond the stage in the center and the bar hugging the right wall, I sit with my back to the corner and begin to wait in the hopes of eavesdropping something useful. Starting with the two guys closest to me...

"Did you hear how the new boss Zereon carries epic grade armor?"

"Really? Epic Grade? Would it even be worth the fight for that?"

"Dude, I checked up the top 25 players and they're all trying to get it- except for that sniper chick Shino"

"No way... With all them going for it it's going to be impossible to get anyways."

"No man I'm telling you, the opportunity for-"

"Were you wanting a drink gunslinger?" a friendly guy with a beard and baby blue eyes asked me, stopping my eavesdropping and startling me. I ended up getting a chocolate milkshake before realizing I would have to un-equip my helm in order to drink it.

As he left to go get the drink presumably, I put aside my lack of forethought and focused on the next group- 2 guys and a girl.

"I swear this game is too hard" the one guy was complaining.

"Don't be such a big baby! This is your first time playing a VRMMO." the other guy stated reassuringly.

"He's not going to get anywhere if he keeps panicking upon entering a buffer zone in between here and the town outskirts." said sort of quietly by the female who was resting her head against her hand which was propped up by her elbow on the table.

"Here's your drink, that'll be 7 credits" came the bartender out of nowhere again.

"Tha-thanks" I stutter while palming the menu in front of my face to transfer my funds to the (hopefully NPC) bartender. Taking off my helmet I begin to sip my drink and try to look lost in my thoughts while desperately trying to tune in and make sense of that conversation again.

"You're impossible!" spoke the one who was trying to reassure the agitated guy. The other guy was nowhere to be seen.

"It's the truth though! If he can't handle a simple zone transfer by himself how do you think he will hold up under fire. If he can't take the uncertainty he will be horrible at this game" she declared angrily before getting up and walking out the door. Before she left the door she turned her head and said coldly "You know where I will be- at least for the next 2 hours if you want to continue training with me."

While they were talking, the other group that I hadn't paid any attention to had left leaving me with no more options here. Finishing my drink and re-equipping my helmet I get up and sit beside the remaining member of the group of 3. "I overheard some of your conversation, do you want to talk about it?

He sighed before saying "I just wanted my best friend in real life to meet my best friend here and have a good time. However my friend had never played a VRMMO before, and something happened to him in the transfer between zones and he chickened out. Now my friend from inside the game is making me choose between her and him and it's a choice I really don't want to make."

"Well..." I stalled trying to think of something. I couldn't help but notice how pale he was with his skin tone and white camo clothing. "How about we meet up briefly with your newbie friend and if we hit it off I can show him the ropes of being in a VRMMO? Then you could join your female friend and worry less about the other one?

He appraised me, or perhaps my armor before calmly saying (with a hint of a smile) "You don't look like you have much experience in these games... miss right?"

"Sigh... I do have experience, I transferred from another game. My gender is not important. You can address me as Kirito. We can try to solve your problems now or you can sit here and mope. Regardless I need to be going now."

After letting that sink in for a second, I get up and leave without looking back. Taking a left I continue in the direction I was originally going before entering the building. About 10 seconds of walking later I hear running footsteps behind me.

"Kirito! Let's do it!" he said rather excitedly.

"Alright, what's your name?" I asked.

"I'm called the Pale Rider."

"Lead the way to your friend then, Pale Rider" yielding control of where we are going to him.

 **20minutes of small talk and searching later**

"Your friend is remarkably good at getting around. You're positive he's still online?" I asked again.

Yeah, I added him to my friend list. He's in this district of the city no doubt about it. I've set him to my favorites so it notifies when he goes on and offline." he replied calmly..

We had drifted to a much seedier side of the city. There were higher buildings around but everything around screamed of neglect and of poverty. I couldn't help shivering as we walked down a dark alleyway with several big guys down it further. Even knowing its a game, I walk just a slight bit quicker- and closer to the Pale Rider. Fortunately, he didn't notice.

Speeding up, we turned the corner and saw him finally, sitting against the wall with his head tucked inbetween his knees. He looked unharmed fortunately (was combat allowed in the city outside of duels?) and we approached him unnoticed. Pale rider nodding me to stand a little ways back, ran at a 90 degree angle from him, right at the walls of the alley which seemed to loom overhead. He reached the wall, jumped up off it to the wall that his friend was against before repeatedly doing the same to get some height. As he started to shrink he abruptly did a short hop and plummeted at the ground, landing smack in front of him like a meteor, probably scaring the hell out of him. I was impressed by the physical prowess demonstrated.

He definitely was surprised. He screamed.

After a good 3 seconds of pure terror, he managed a "what the fu-" before he was interrupted by Pale Rider "stop wallowing. You knew this was going to be hard and I can't having you giving up on the first day. Remember when we started playing instruments in school and the roles were reversed? You can be totally bad ass in this game, hell you can be whatever you want in this game." he started this aggressively but was really affectionate by the end of it.

"Sigh. You're right. I can't deal with her right now though."

"Fair enough, I'm going to keep her preoccupied while you learn."

"How?"

"Well... I will train with her and I have a tutor for you to get the basic handles from which I will build on!"

I took this as an opportune moment to step towards him; the movement catching his eye, and his attention.

"You're not going to do this yourself? Wow..." he put his head briefly down back to his knees before getting up and saying "I understand now, let's get this done sooner rather then later."

Pale Rider took this as a dismissal and said "Kay bye!" before zooming off comically into the direction we came from without introducing each other.

"Sigh. So typical of him to forget social necessities such as introductions." the forlorn boy said while getting up from sitting down. "My in game name is Ganamoto. I want to specialize in a fluid fighting style that can react to most anything, a lot like my friend who ran away, Pale Rider. Since you are my tutor, what would you suggest we do to get to this point? Also would I be able to get your name unless you want me referring to you as Sensai only?" he suggested awkwardly while approaching me.

"Sensai would be the best for right now. If this does end up being a longer engagement, then we can go to a first name basis." I stated cooly, keeping a distance between us and the helmet for anonymity.

"Uhh, ok. Sensai where should we start?" he looked rather nervous/excited I couldn't tell which.

"Start by showing your sense of direction and leading us to the outskirts. Then after we **will** go into the hostile zone, no ifs, ands, or buts."

"But..."

"What did I just say?" I ask impatiently.

He breathed deeply before saying "Let's get going then."

 **10minutes later on the way out**

"So sensai, what weapons do you use in this game?" Ganamoto asked after we had gotten over the initial awkwardness.

"I have a laser sword and a pistol. Do you have any idea what weapons you want to aim for using at this point in time? I do not plan on teaching you about the varieties of weapons, I will leave that for your friend. I'm going to evaluate your mental fortitude as that's the base for everything and we will go from there."

"Err... is that really necessary? I just want to be able to keep up with him."

"Do you think that's possible when you can't get through a loading zone? That indicates to me a large fear of the unknown and more importantly, uncertainty in oneself. That can cause others depending on you to die." As I was saying this, more heat/agression was being added to my voice. Distancing myself again, I say cooly "You need to know what you can do and what you can't so you know whether to fight or flight too. I don't think you are capable of this even right now under no pressure let alone a battle situation."

"Alright Alright. Lets do this your way" he sighed good humorously raising his hands in the air in mock defeat. I couldn't help but let out a small smile, he had an endearing way of expressing things.

"So how close are we to the exit Ganamoto?"

"You should know! It's right in plain sight ahead to our left! I don't get lost" he confidently boasted.

"Haha I will try to test that!" I laughed out. "Now for the first real test, going through the loading zone. We are going to go through separately and meet up just on the other end. You first, then Private Message (PM) me through the system once you're on the other end. There is nothing to fear, just remember you are playing a game."

"Oh. Kay." he mumbled distractedly while looking at the proximity menu that had popped up for the transfer point into the next zone.

"Relax, you aren't going to die in a loading zone. Hell, even if it was possible you'll just respawn. You have nothing to lose besides your dignity which is already sullied." I quietly say as to avoid attracting attention from the other people leaving the city.

"This doesn't feel like a game though. Games have controllers to interact with it, not your entire body." he spoke intensely, little more then a whisper.

"Then what do you call the thing you put on your head if not a controller? It's a device that allows you to interact with the environment you are deluded with. Doesn't that sound like a controller to you? Also this isn't your real body if you haven't noticed. Pain is minimal; something essential with a game of this genre. You are still laying down where ever you went and linked to the game."

"I-I never really thought of it that way... Well here goes nothing. See you on the other side!" Ganamoto exclaimed with a bravado that was a little bit surprising.

Well... this guy can improve at least I thought to myself while marking this point on my Minimap for further reference to exit the city. My original task to find the exit done, I settle down on a nearby bench to wait until I received a PM from him. The time on my clock specified that it was only 2pm, 6 hours of gameplay.

 **Meanwhile in Alfheim**

"There's something bothering me about how my brother said his goodbyes" Leafa confided with Asuna. "He seemed distracted while telling us about this, and you know how singular his focus is when he does things full heartedly"

"I know... I also know though that the only reason he wouldn't tell me or Yui or about this is that he's trying to protect somebody from this- most likely all of us from having to be involved." said Asuna in resignation. "It's one of the reasons I love him though, so I can't fault him for that."

"I just wish there was a way we could keep updated on his status to act as backup if need be. Not knowing is the worst." she said dejectedly.

"Wait, Yui, are you able to find Kirito and act as a go between?"

"Only if he's using the nervegear which I was saved on for a while Mommy. I don't know if he had finished his modifications to it though. If it is in use, I can transfer to it because he didn't transfer all my files to Alfheim allowing me to move between the Nerve gear and the world it is interacting with, and Alfheim. I will check to see if I can find those files online. It will take a little bit longer to find them since he's not at home." Yui said seriously as she could while sitting on Asuna's shoulder.

"You're amazing Yui!" Shugo said excitedly.

"Hey, some help killing this Lizard over here?" Klein yelled in worry as his hp was dropping with him also being afflicted with several status debuffs.

"Coming!" they both chimed in unison.

 **Back to GGO**

I hadn't been sitting for a minute before a notification appeared on the top center of my vision saying I had received a PM. While waiting I had been thinking furiously on how to learn the essentials without compromising myself and had a few theories on how to do so. Bringing up the menu with hand, I check the PM that read "Mission Impossible status: Complete. Subject is scarred for life." Laughing a little to myself at the hyperbole. I get up and walk towards the zone exit point where there was a group of 2 people just getting in. One had a sniper rifle and the other was referring to her as Shino in a manner that suggested he had feelings for her. Knowing it's none of my business I walk by her without commenting whilst still wearing my helmet for disguise.

I was past her when I heard her say, "-there's that nobody that surprised Tomohide earlier. Take her if you think you can but I think my bets on her if any of those rumours are close to true. I will defeat her if she really is as strong as people think.

Unnerved that I'm already being recognized on site and knowing who is talking about me (Shino who is a top 25 player!) I quickly pull up the zone transfer and hit confirm without reading it to just get out of sight, and hopefully out of mind.

I quickly black out and open up to find myself on a cuboid platform what looks to be overseeing the entire two zones it acts as a buffer to. All I had to do was look and my vision would become crystal clear on the area I was looking at, as if I was right there looking at that spot. I could see all the mobs within 500meters of where I would be spawning, which was marked by a upside down red triangle in the new zone (aptly named The Outskirts). I could see Ganamoto chilling on a seat a short walk from where I would be coming in.

I was so in awe of the current circumstances in fact that I didn't see the menu above me counting down from one minute until there was 18 seconds left on it. I quickly read that it said "Confirm Zone Transfer? Y / N" pressed the Y on the menu and proceeded to black out again before I appeared right where I said it said I would. Which means I have a 2 minute or so walk to where Ganamoto is. Deciding to not keep him waiting after his "victory" I jog over to give my congratulations to him while taking in the new scenery.

Essentially this area was barren, like a desert or a previous blast site that they decided to build a city in. Radiation is good for your health after all. I could see only to my left as to my right I have a huge view of the city in between me and what's ever on the other side, if anything. The ground was a dark brownish red that sunk under your footsteps and there was few plants in sight. Mostly small bushes that looked like they were on the verge of becoming tumbleweeds. However, the lack of vegetation did not mean there was a lack of life.

There's a few smaller animals/creatures here that are probably the equivalent of the newbie training/farming grounds and there is at least 4 different people/groups that are individually hunting them down systematically in sight. Should be easy enough to find a private spot to train both of ourselves as the area is full of small hills and valleys I thought cheerfully, at odds with the bleak surroundings.

Just to my left there was a semi hidden hole covered by some still living foliage. It looked big enough to hide in and I stopped abruptly. Looking around rather suspiciously, I walk up to the hole to investigate. It was indeed big enough to hide in but looking again around me I was dismayed by the amount of people in the proximity of myself. Wouldn't be a secret for long if I investigated further right now... Besides I need to get back to that guy..

"Hey!" a voice shouted. "Over here Sensaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" exclaimed Ganamoto in unadulterated celebration. Instead of saying anything I just jog over to him and high five his (small) achievement while cringing internally hoping that he wasn't going to act like a beacon for people who may be looking for me.

Fortunately I didn't see anything while looking around nonchalantly while making small talk that I don't even remember what was about. "You are so distracted" he interjected randomly into the conversation.

I breathed out a quiet sigh "I was hoping you wouldn't notice. I have to hide from certain people or something very bad will go down. I apologize that I'm using you as a disguise, you are free to go if you don't want to get involved further."

He immediately lost his jocular attitude and took on a serious tone. "Is it real life or in game problems?" If this is going to cause in game problems I cannot help right now... But with some teaching I will help you as repayment."

Looking at his face to judge his intent, I noticed for the first time his avatar's eye colouring. It was startling in how vivid of a green yellow they were. Combined with his short hair shorn in a legion cut he was rather cute... wait what am I thinking. He looks serious enough and I could use the help but the danger I would be putting him would be suicidal if things turned south...

"I can't let you come with me." I stated without further elaboration.

He pursed his lips "I'm going to work hard to be able to help you regardless of whether you want me to or not if the only thing you are concerned is for myself. I know you are unable to see the depth of my seriousness but please try to understand.

"He's telling the truth you know" a familiar voice broke into the conversation calmly with a tone infused with a smile.

Ganamoto didn't acknowledge anything so either he didn't hear anything or I'm going crazy and hearing her voice.

"Yui?" I mouthed quietly barely moving my mouth. "Is that you?"

"Who else? By the way I'm currently replacing your cybernetic eye's AI which means only you can hear and interact with me. So accept his help and get moving, there is a search party being organized in town right now and they have a description for both you and Ganamoto. Your actions in town have limited eyewitness accounts but the duel quite clearly shows you."

Cringing at the bad news I look at Ganamoto who was beginning to misinterpret my cringe and to prevent misunderstandings "An update came through my cybernetic eye, you're in whether you like it or not. The people searching for us have both our descriptions. We need to move. Now."

Looking a bit worried, he pulled up the menu and said "It's 2:15 right now, I have about 3 hours until I need to log off for the day but I can be on all day tomorrow. When are you not going to be online?"

"I'm going to be online for sure when you log in, lets discuss it then" trying to brush off that question. Meanwhile I pulled his arm and started jogging out into the expanse to get some distance between myself and the town.

While jogging I discouraged conversation whilst focusing on Yui. "I know Mommy sent you here but why?"

"Mommy and Leafa were worried because of how Daddy was acting." she said sounding seriousy crossed- a first for her. By the way take a right up there by that outcrop of rock and keep running."

"Ganamoto! We're taking a right just after that outcrop of rock and keeping on the move!" strangling the words out from a lack of breath.

Whilst trying to take a deep breath, " I guess I should thank you for your help then. Tell me, is there anyway I can interact without talking to you under my breath? Also, I know you are residing in my cybernetic eye but what is the game classifying you as?

"You can interact with me by thinking about doing so. I am part of your body after all. I also have a speaker built in so I can interact with multiple people if you or I so should choose to initiate that. I am having to modify some of my core files temporarily in order for the system to not recognize me as alien. Most notably my personality files."

"Personality files? Are these changes permanent?" I thought to Yui.

"They're permanent for the duration of my stay here, it is only my GGO version of files that I am changing. The core of myself remains untouched in your nerve gear updated with memories of what's happening here every so often." Yui intoned impatiently before changing the subject. "At your 11 o'clock, you should see a mound. Run towards it, there is a scarcely known hide out with a hatch you pull up to enter. It's large enough to get acquainted with the mechanics of GGO for yourself and your partner."

"Thanks Yui!"

"There's a hiding spot close by! Follow my lead!" I gasped out as I'm pumping my legs quicker then his to keep up with him without going into overdrive, which is the game assist mode that exposes my (ridiculous?) stats to him.

He smirked at my obvious physical distress and mouthed the word "ok" as he dropped in behind me.

True to her word, the hatch was there covered by some grime and foilage that led down maybe 30 feet down into the ground into what looked sort of like inside of a tank. There was some yellow light coming from incandescent bulbs in the corners which with the help of some curved glass and mirrors lit up the light sufficiently enough that there would be no tripping, albeit the shadows were eerily circling us in a very distorted matter. Making my way opposite to the hatch and ladder down into this area, I sit down against the far wall which looked to be thick steel plated walls with the floor being slightly uneven dirt with boulders extruding the surface to a height of maybe one and a half feet. High enough to be a considerable tripping hazard.

"Whoa what is this place?" he exclaimed in surprise.

"Yui if you want to take the floor on this, I'm curious too." I stated out loud.

"This place is an Easter egg put in the game since it beginning. It's supposed to be where the nuke that made this land inhabitable was stored. Currently there is no one who frequents this place and there has only been around 85 or so people who have found this area. It's deep enough that no sounds will penetrate to the surface and obscure enough that it buys you two a bit of time. There is old military corridors attached to this area that lead to two separate one way exits." Yui ranted off authoritatively to answer our question.

"Who, who is that?" Ganamoto said freaking out, not recognizing the voice.

"Ganamoto, meet the AI of my cybernetic eye, Yui. Yui already knows who you are." I calmly introduced.

"Woah. You have a robotic eye? I would have never guessed with that helmet on. Can I see?" he asked out of amazement.

"I'll show you after we train, providing you work hard." I stated.

"Oh come on! We were sprinting for like 10 full minutes, isn't that enough?" he complained in a semi serious manner.

Deciding to ignore it, I go on and ask "What is the most important things about combat?"

Putting his hand to his head and leaning back he awkwardly laughed and volunteered "winning?"

I couldn't help it. I broke out into a great peal of laughter stopping once after about 15 seconds. The resonation of my voice in this chamber made me serious again because it was so feminine and it reminded me of what my situation is and how it may be interpreted.

"Ok you got me there. In all seriousness however, I believe it boils down to these things. One, awareness of your surroundings. Two, the preparations you make for the former. Three, your reaction to changes in the environment." I listed off holding my fingers out as I said each point out loud.

Seeing him about to say something I gesture for him to be silent and start to elaborate. "First things first, is knowing your surroundings. This means knowing where people are likely to be hiding, and the most likely location you are going to be attacked from. Then the next step is to make sure if you are attacked, you are in as strong as a position as possible to ensure success or survival. And lastly, changing your strategy on the go depending on the surrounding circumstances. As an example, if you are in a party/squadron and some are pinned down from an enemy and you notice that if you don't interact to free them from the spot then they will be useless in the fight for some time to come which may cause you to lose the fight then the obvious course of action is to free them. Notice how none of these include any degree of skill. A smart player is a good player regardless of their combat skills because the positioning and understanding that I'm describing is much harder to learn then shooting accurately." I say with a small smile still on my lips.

He said nothing for a short bit, looking to be deep in thought which I appreciated for not immediately denying it without thinking.

"I think I understand. If this is true though, how will you be teaching me? You just said this is much harder to learn then shooting a gun." he said whilst looking into my eyes with traces of the worry I saw when I first met him in his face.

"Well... I've been a solo player for a long time so it comes naturally to me. Feel free to ask questions as we progress onwards and I will answer as thoroughly as I can.

 **2 hours of talking and instructing later**

"Ok I think I've got the basics down. This definitely should lead to a more fluid style of combat" Ganamoto finally said after hours of extensive questioning.

I had to hand it to him, he learned theory quickly and asked good questions. Still, that didn't help ease my exhaustion and the growing sense of unease that was developing.

"I need a break" I yawned out.

"It's almost 4:30, I should probably log out for now" Ganamoto acknowledged my request. "See you tomorrow?" he asked kindly.

"Yeah, I'll be here" I promised.

* * *

 _Well that chapter is done. Apologies for the wait ^.^. Nonetheless I'm not dead, and neither is the story. I made this one over 5000 words for your patience, hopefully you liked. You're welcome for no cliffhanger. I had to write this chapter several times until I got an intro for Yui that wasn't terrible. Yui will be quite a bit different from the show/book cause I have no idea how to give voice to her personality accurately. As it is I have to find a way to make mental conversations between the two clear. Any idea for word formatting to suggest it/make it more clear?_

 _Poll question!_

 _Ganamoto only has a starting pistol right now (laser) as he's a complete newb and I have to decide on a main weapon for him to pick up. What will his main weapon class be? You've got until chapter 5 is published to get your input in!_

 _2\. Which person from SAO is most likely to transfer to GGO first, if at all? (No known deadline)_


	4. Chapter 4: Friend or Foe?

_Guys I've had an epiphany regarding the plot! You may hate me at the end of the story with the epiphany I had whilst writing this chapter. I've also realized I've been writing this more as a novel and less as a fanfic with story arcs. Is it keeping you guys entertained? Also I've added an_ _ **official poll**_ _on my profile for these questions I'm asking. It's a few clicks and it would mean a lot to me (click on my publisher name at the top and the poll is on the top of it. Alternatively,_ _~fictologist_ _is the direct link to my profile. You do need an account to do it so if you have one, I will love you forever and ever 3_

* * *

"I'll be here tomorrow morning" Ganamoto stated as he brought up the menu in preparation for logging off.

"I'll be waiting." I replied radiating confidence.

He nodded and the log out animation started and finished within 3 seconds.

Finally alone, I unequipped my helmet and stretched. "Time to learn combat" I said to myself.

"You aren't going to learn without guns shooting you and how do you suppose you're going to manage that without taking unnecessary risks?" Yui remarked dryly.

"Are there any practice drones or something that you can use as a practice sparring partner in this game within this area?" I asked while rolling my shoulder.

"Of course there is- if you're willing to chance going back into town to purchase them. I don't know how complete the description is of you two, only that there is one. You do have quite a different look with your armor equipped so you may be able to stealth in. There is one alternative however.."

"Hmm. What's the alternative? The town is very big and mostly open from my experience there. I don't think I could stealth through there without being seen. It would most likely be easiest to just casually walk through the town with how big it is and hope to not attract attention but if they have a description like you said they do then that's going to be near impossible." I mused.

"Well, the only other options are having a real person to practice with unless you want to go practice on the mobs outside. Again though, the enemies here are non humanoid and as such aren't shooting guns at you. If you are wanting to practice PvP there's really only those options unless you want to go PK-ing which would probably be the quickest way for both learning and being exposed." she pointed out teasingly.

"Navigate the town for myself then, looks like we're heading back there." I stated.

"No thanks" Yui yawned out.

"Wh-wh-what?" I stuttered out shocked at the aloofness. "Please Yui, there is a lot at stake here and its unlikely I can do it without your help."

…

…

"Yui, are you still there?!" I cried out alarmed.

…

…

"Please open the map of the area and the outskirts" I mentally intoned coming to a realization. Directly after asking a map was projected right in front of me mid air including my present location as well as the surrounding maps.

"To navigate the maps just bring your fingers to the projection and drag in the direction you want it to scroll"a generic voice listed out. "For further assistance on usage, you can consult the buyers manual which is in your inventory or you can think 'Help Commands' for a briefer description on what I can do for you." not Yui said.

I guess the system found her... I hope she's okay... Well, I need to focus on the task at hand. First course of action is to find someone to help me locate those drones since I don't know where or what they are called or find a sparring partner. I could take up PvP as a last resort so this isn't make or break but I need to get this done before he comes back tomorrow. Wasn't Pale Rider going to take up his training?

Shoot.. time is just passing right now. Decide already...

Minako may be a good person to approach, if she's trustworthy. She already knows a lot though which is both a good and a bad thing... I could go into down with this disguise but if I talk to her in it and she's one of them then I'm absolutely screwed... If I go in with no disguise and find her would be ideal but my description is already floating around in town. There's significant risk in that right now.

"Sigh. Thinking like this and not moving is going to get you nowhere. Get a grip." I said aloud to no one in particular.

Crossing the underground cavern I slowly climbed the ladder in trepidation until I reached the top. Pausing to take a deep breath; I grabbed the latch, spun it, then pulled it to open it. The bright light leaking through the opening blinding me, I entered the Outskirts again. As some hair flashed in front of my eyes I entered into panic mode and hurriedly reequipped all armor pieces.

Fortuitously no one was around, probably because there was "nothing good" that this area was close to. Taking a direct route, I pretty much retraced the path I took in run earlier on at a much more casual pace. I was trying to effect the "just getting back from a journey out" body language from a distance. In reality though, I was hyper alert with all my muscles being tensed to move at a moment's notice.

Having time to look around was very eye opening. This whole area appeared to be dystopian as possible with stark contrast to the city. I had already noticed it before but besides the mangy wolves and non-hostile lizard/scorpions there didn't really appear to be anything well, lively. It's a newbie area so it's unlikely anything large and dangerous would be implemented in this area. Or maybe it is, seeing as this game as the reputation as "The Hardest Video Game". The irony at the title that was awarded to GGO was not lost on me. If the media knew more about SAO then I think there would have been a different end to that competition. Then again... I don't know a whole lot about the game so while you can die as much as you like, it may be easier to die overall.

Well crap. One of the groups, 4 people that I see is on a course to intercept me. They weren't close enough to tell what they have equipped. I'm decently close to that hole in a bush I had passed on my way here if I want to stick to my plan of avoidance, but if they find me I have absolutely no escape. If they plan on fighting, well I'll see what the result is. For now just keep walking seemingly oblivious to them to see how the dice will be rolled.

…

…

I've passed that hiding spot, now is the point of no return. One of them has a white gun that's quite large; he's got white hair and looks to be medium size in brown camouflage clothing. Behind and to the left is a cloaked person, I can't make anything out more than that right now. The third was another male with black hair a slight build and a black gun of medium small size. The fourth appeared to be unarmed, or at least wasn't holding weapon in hand. No visible holsters either. Bluish black hair...

Once they were maybe 40 meters away I stopped and turned to face them, abandoning the pretense of ignorance. I unhooked the photon sword from my right side and kept it held in my hand turned off in the case this was a "friendly" visit. Noticing my actions and my confrontational stance, the three with visible weapons stopped at a hand signal from the unarmed one who kept walking towards me. About halfway to me I recognized her as Minako, who I met briefly after my duel with Tomohide and who knew my true identity.

Uneasy I did nothing, letting her approach to 10 steps of me. Not knowing what to say, I waited.

"Hey newbie, I'm trying to track someone, have you seen anyone?" she asked in a friendly tone.

"I've seen lots of people I lied, what's in it for me?" I asked trying to sustain a convenient yawn over that entire sentence. I don't think she can see a yawn but she can probably hear it in my voice although how badly this helmet muffles sound I don't know.

"We have credits you could use to get better armor" she admonished.

"Which I probably couldn't use yet. Why is this important? Who are you looking for? Why?" I asked hurriedly noticing that the three others are approaching slowly.

"Well.. To explain that, I'm a information merchant and I generally go by the alias of The Black Cat, but my name is-"she explained still in that friendly upbeat voice.

"If you're dealing with me in good faith tell the three others to stop approaching and move away or I'm gone." I interrupted warning her.

Looking surprised, she looked over her shoulder she yelled "Guys you are ruining this! Go hunting for a bit, I'll catch up."

Waiting a moment to confirm they followed through, I said "Your name is Minako right?"I asked.

Off balanced she said "Yes that is my name. How did you know?"

"That isn't the information you came here for." I stated quietly avoiding the question.

Taking a deep breath she rattled off "I've been commissioned by others to locate a person by the name of Kirito because of the skill level she demonstrated in a duel earlier today. It's important to me because all the information merchants have been tasked with this and if I find her my reputation will improve in the minds of many. I'm not just doing it for them though, this person I've had the opportunity to come into contact with and it counters many things said about her. I want to help her, and help myself."

"If that's truly the case then wouldn't Kirito be losing a lot? Obviously she doesn't want to be found if everyone is looking for her to no avail so if you go spreading information about her whereabouts... how would that help her?"

"Ugh look. I don't expect you to understand what I'm doing. Just tell me have you seen her?" she said putting her hands on her hips and walking forward a few steps.

Slightly intimidated I take a half step back and say "Yeah I have seen her. She has black hair, a cyber eye, near my height right?"

"How did you know what she looked like?" She articulated precisely, switching voices into what I guess is her business mode. Or interrogator, I'm not sure yet.

"First lets discuss payment" I raised my right hand to stop her words.

She looked at my hand startled and reached over her shoulder in a flash and had a gun pointed at me.

"So you mean to coerce this information from me without payment? I thought we were having a friendly talk" I asked confused and a bit nervous.

"Put away your weapon and I'll put away mine" she stated.

"Wait what? Oh" I belatedly remember the sword in my hand and hook it back on my side. "Are we good now?"

"Perfectly!" she stated lightly doing a little spin of the gun in a smooth motion to rest on her back. "Since you already have stated your reluctance to take credits, what do you want exactly?"

Musing over the circumstance, I wasn't totally sure if this would be a good bargain to do. I could avoid going into a city for the drone(s) but there would guarantee be more information about myself available to a person of an untested reliability. She seems kind though and I don't know if I can do this alone/

"Well... I want 5 practice drones as well as an information trade. That fair?" I suggested

"3 drones and information, limited by the amount you have." She bargained.

"Fine. The reason I know how she looks like is she's been training me for quite some time" I said stating a half truth. I have been training myself for quite some time after all, since SAO started.

"Really." She said deadpan. "She knew very little of this game, how could she be training others?" Smirking a bit, she said "let's find out."

In the half second of being startled she had a gun out and pointed at me again. Even more startling is that my hand in front of me was holding my up to now unused sword still turned off. Really wanting to avoid another revealing fight I try to placate her "So you're going to kill me now without paying? That's terrible form for an information merchant." Lowering my weapon slightly in the hope she's bluffing I continue "I'll make sure everyone knows how you deal with people from now on, in fact I'll make sure your precious reputation will be tarnished."

"You're in the wrong game to be non-confrontational, people will sympathize with me" she said a small smile still toying on her face.

"Don't get me wrong, this isn't about you wanting to kill me. This is about you avoiding payment which is completely separate. If you can't hold up your end of a bargain I think you'll find you have a lot less clientele" I bluffed, not really sure what people would do in that scenario.

She laughed genuinely. "You're slick as ice. Fine we will finish our business transaction and then we will see."

"There's nothing to see yet, I was in the process of getting those drones for a reason" I warned her.

"I see, I see" she said thoughtfully. "What more can you tell me about her?"

"Not much. She's training me but she's quite secretive. Her stats are decently high from what I've witnessed." I paused making sure she was still following. "Now your turn for my questions. Who's asking about her, and do you know why?"

Smirking again, she exclaimed "You've got a crush on her don't you?"Without a pause she continued "None of my business if you do or not. In regards to your question I don't know who sent out the original request. I've sourced it from within the Zaskar organization though, the company that made this game. As to why, I have no clue. There's really no comparison I can draw to in my 8 months of playing professionally. Due to how much work I put into getting that information, the information trade is complete."

"I see, that's more than enough information right now. However, regarding the drones how will you go about providing that to me?"I asked.

"One of the guys I was with I messaged to go and get some, he should be here within 5 minutes or so with them." She replied. "That means we have at least that long to duel. Now put'em up!" Minako ordered.

Putting all my weight on my left leg, I put my left hand in the air in mock surrender and my right hand against my waist, close to where my sword is harnessed. "Sigh, I surrender. You get your wish, very misplaced as it is. Duel?"

"Duel."She acquiesced with a nod. Bringing up her menu she started what I assumed the process was to challenge others to a duel.

Crap crap crap! I wanted to avoid this. If I do something similar as to what I did to Tomohide she's going to have very strong suspicions on my identity. If I don't do anything at all, I doubt she's going to give me the drones. What can I do to not raise suspicion...? I can't use my gun, she'll recognize that instantly so it's down to the sword. There's no way I can get close enough to hit her if it's a rapid fire gun like Tomohide's either. Unless I can deflect it... but to deflect them at that speed though I would need to know where they were going...

"Hey you lagging? Accept the request already!" Minako yelled while running backwards.

The pop up was of course in front of me at chest level just like the majority of the other user interfaces. It didn't say my name on it however which was relieving. It read "Minako has challenged you to an all out duel with a bounty of 5000 credits awarded to the victor. Do you accept?"

"Accepting now!" I yelled back looking at the decent distance she put between me and her. She had run perpendicular to the path; so looking at her the city was on my right and my new home somewhere to the left. Once she reached a distance of maybe 40 meters between me and her she stopped. The counter was already down to 6. There was a boulder to at my 10 o'clock, maybe a quarter of the distance between me and her which I could use as cover or I could go directly at her and hope for the best. I could also increase the distance between me and her and hope that the accuracy is redu-

"Start" said that same NPC voice.

Immediately she let loose with a torrent of bullets that weren't that had a wide spread over myself. Taking a deep breath I threw myself backwards keeping myself horizontal, feet pointed at her. A bullet hit me below my right knee causing me to cringe while the other bullets whizzed around me. Landing roughly on my back, I turn the little remaining momentum into an acrobatic roll to get back to my feet quick to react to further shots.

Unhooking my sword, I looked at her and I could feel my reasoning for holding back slipping away, replaced with a steely determination to win at any cost.

"Aren't you supposed to try and close the distance with that sort of weapon?" She taunted in a bored manner, like this fight was already over.

"You're assuming I even know what weapon this is and how it works"I began.

"Well it's very unlikely-"she began.

Unable to help it, I grin and interrupt "I do."Bursting into a system assisted dash right at her; I kept the sword turned off in my right hand, holding it pointed backwards on my left side. All I needed was her startled for a moment and I had it. A moment later the expected gunshots came, loosely focused like the last burst. 16 bullets, 9 of which are expected to hit me based off the predicative line. Making a split decision based off the trajectories I press the switch on the sword swing it in an upper arc, destroying the one heading for my neck immediately following it up with a forehand strike to get the one aimed at my chest. Meanwhile I took one in my right arm and left thigh before doing a high flip over the rest of the bullets coming. Only 15 more meters I thought.

Minako; eyes kind of gaping, whispered "no way" while standing motionless for a second. Doing a quick maneuver, she had that gun away and a much smaller one she was pulling from a side holster.

Not wanting to give her another chance to hit me (being shot stung a ton) I push off hard on my right foot to send myself into a spinning kick and knock her pistol out of her hands while turning my sword off to avoid stabbing myself.

She looked at my body entering the kick and threw herself forward and under my own body which by this point was already committed and in the air beginning the spin. Hitting the ground facing backwards my toes of my shoes digging gouges as I slide to a stop after about 6 feet and tasting a metallic tang in my mouth I burst into a dash.

Of course, how easily she read my body movement should have been a warning as she grabbed my outstretched arm with the sword in it and flipped me over her body using my momentum against myself.

"Ughh..." I groaned trying to get up off my back as I overhear the cocking of the gun. I was definitely being too cocky about my own skills..

"Not too bad" she said with a devilish smile as she approached. "it's over now though."

Managing to get to a crouch before she stopped about 3 steps away I spat out "Not yet"in defiance while looking at my health surprised that it was still over 50%, I used a tactic I developed in SAO to dash to the boulder jumping over it and take cover.

In other words, I surprised her by glomping her and complimenting her before running like hell. Smooth right?

"How, how dare- Oh you are so dead now" she yelled out losing her composure as I thought I heard a blush entering her voice.

I really didn't want to pull out my gun as she would probably recognize it, but I was starting to see no alternative unless I could end it with words as I crouched against the rock. Taking my first deep breath I smelled the area around me for the first time. It was pungent, but not quite unpleasant as it smelled sort of like cinnamon and something else for some strange reason.

Steeling myself against what was probably going to be a very violent onslaught, I got up and walked around to the left of the boulder with my sword out.

* * *

 _As it does coincide with Christmas and the New Year I decided to do a little post episode special. It may or may not coincide with this story. Enjoy!_

Groaning as I got out of bed I was immediately attacked with a hug from behind.  
"Wha-What?"I asked, too asleep to react to it.

"Happy Wintermas!" Sugu excitedly said with her legs wrapped around my body so I was supporting both of us.

Blinking several times in a lack of comprehension I manage to stifle a yawn and ask "What?"

"You're silly when you're tired Oniiii-chan" she giggled. "We've been looking forward to this date forever as we get to see everyone at Egil's place!"She went on super enthusiastic, somehow managing to bounce with how she was wrapped around me.

"Oh! I had totally forgotten with how busy I've been. I'm awake now and need to get ready, you don't mind if I ask you to leave?"

"You really forgot?"she asked in horror, wide-eyed while getting off of me.

Rolling my shoulders I turned to face her and put my hand on her shoulder and said softly " Of course not! I know several people who would have my head if I did. Just playing with you"After this I proceeded to mess up her hair as she walked to the door. "By the way where were you hiding?"

Suguha, my sister, looked back at me with a glint in her eyes and a smirk. "Not telling you~"

Pulling up on my motorized bike with Sugu, to Egil's rather nice bar (although I wouldn't tell him that!); I locked it up behind the store and walked to the front in amiable silence with her. Judging by the sound leaking out of the building I mused "wonder who is here already.."Looking over at my little sister, she had a coy smile like she already knew.

"Oh no I've been plotted against" I said in mock exasperation giving her a side hug and opening the door to see something really amazing.

" **HAPPY WINTERMAS"** everyone exclaimed loudly as Asuna approached.

And so the party went into the wee hours of the morning without a hitch. That is, until Lisbeth slyly asked me loudly in a moment of relative silence "How are you enjoying being a girl?"

Everyone else burst into laughing at the question; and then further into tears at my burning face, as for most it was probably their first time seeing me blush.

 _Any and all suggestions would be appreciated with the story~ I am getting no feedback =( Should I still do the poll questions? That's my poll question for today. Also, happy new year wherever you be, however and whenever you celebrate it. Hopefully it's with friends and/or family._


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